Safety appliance for display-windows.



R. R. COURTNEY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR DISPLAY wmoows.

APPLICATION FILED APR-15, 1915.

1,1 92,040. I Patented July 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

iwii-iilll w g5 Q/Zg I 0 V Haber) R (JOu 'Z ZQy y b5 WWW? 0% M R. R. COURTNEY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR DISPLAY WINDOWS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. 1915.

Patented July 25 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

8 nvemtoz %13 L 1 1 mtozmaq ROBERT R. COURTNEY, OF FORT WADSWORTH, NEW YORK.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR DISPLAY-WINDOWS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Application filed April 15, 1915. Serial No. 21,572.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT R. COURTNEY, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Fort lVadsworth, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Appliances for Display-Windows, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to safety appliance or apparatus for use in connection with display Windows, and the object thereof 1s to provide an appliance of this class de signed particularly for use in connection with the display windows of merchants or traders dealing in jewelry, precious stones or like merchandise, and which is also particularly designed to prevent the theft or stealing of such merchandise by the breaking Or cutting out of a portion of the window and the insertion of the hand therethrough.

It is a well known fact that in the use of display windows of the class specified, valuable jewelry, precious stones and the like are placed in the window, or on a shelf, or on trays back of the window for display purposes, and it is also well known that such windows are frequently broken by throwingv a stone or other heavy article therethrough, or apart of the window glass cut out in order that a hand may be passed therethrough-for the purpose of removing the merchandise displayed in the manner described; and one of the objects of my invention is to provide a guard which will be operated in either of the events above specified to prevent the removal of the merchandise from the window.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, .in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is an inside view of a display window provided with my improvement,

parts of the construction being broken away or shown in section; Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 a View similar to Fig. 2 but showing only a detail. of the construction and showing the same on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 anmounted in a frame, comprising a top portion a a bottom portion a and side portions a, and in the construction shown the side portions a are extended inwardly to form a box-shaped receptacle having a bottom a and the top portion of the window frame is also provided with an inwardly directed extension of shelf member a. The exact form and construction of the window frame, however, is immaterial within the limits hereinafter set out, and the bottom part a of the box-shaped receptacle referred to may consist of thewindow sill or an inwardly directed extension thereof, and it is on this window sill, or the inwardly directed extension thereof, that the merchandise to be displayed is usually placed.

In the practice of my invention, I place on or over the window sill a a plate or shelf 12, and the sill a is provided at the opposite sides of its front edge portion with raised ears or members a between which the front edge portion of the plate or shelf 6 is pivoted as shown at a andthe plate or shelf 6 is approximately of the same dimensions as the sill a but is freely movable on its pivotal support at a and the outer edge portion thereof is provided with an arm 6 which is rigidly secured thereto and which passes downwardly through a slot a in the sill a? and is provided in 1ts lower end with an anti-friction roller 6 The sill a is also provided with a hanger c to the lower end of which is pivoted as shown at c a lever d, the shorter arm (1 of which extends outwardly while the longer arm 03 extends inwardly.

The shorter arm d? is provided with a raised horizontal portion d on which the anti-friction roller 12 bears, and the longer arm d is provided with a raised horizontal portion (l which passes through a suspended keeper 6 connected with the sill a and the front'end of the lever arm d of the-lever 03 passes into another keeper 6 suspended from the sill a and in the bottom of which is a screw 6 which is connected with the end of the part d? of the lever d by .a spring 'efland which is provided with an adjusting nut e and a lock nuts. The

' screw 0 has a longitudinal movement in the bottom of the keeper 6 but the hole in the bottom of the keeper 6 through which the screw 6 passes is not threaded, and said screw is connected with the bottom of said .keeper by a key construction, as shown at 6", and which prevents the rotation of the screw in the keeper. p v

The plate or shelf 1) is provided centrally of its outer end portion with an electric contact piece f, and in the sill a directly under the contact piece f is a contact piece f which passes through the sill a" Mounted on the top part oi .1 window frame, or the inwardly directed shelf member 0: thereof" is a double electro-magnet 9 supported by a bracket device g and provided with an armature arm 9 to the free end of which is secureda depending finger piece 9" which passes through a slot a in the top portion of the Window frame and is provided in its lower end with an anti-friction roller 9 and inwardly of the slot at is a bell crank device 9 secured to the bottom of the part (1, of the window and to which is pivoted a crank lever 9 the upper end of which is connected with the bell crank device 9 by a spring 9 and the lower end of which is provided with an anti-friction roller 9. At the opposite sides of the window are secured two vertical tube members h on the lower end portions of which are placed cushioning springs if provided with vertically movable caps h and mount ed between the vertical tube members It is a vertically movable drop gate 2' which constitutes the guard member, and which consists ofa heavy openwork metal frame and which is provided at its opposite ends with parallel projecting ears 2' which are vertically movable on the tube or tube members h and at the top of the said tube or tube members it are pulleys j and similar pulleys 7' are supported below said tube or' tube members and the shafts of the pulleys 7' are provided with gears and similar gears j are mounted below the gears 3' and mesh therewith, and the shafts of the gears jtare provided with other pulleys 7' similar to the pulleys y' and one of the gears j? meshes with a large gear 70 supported at and below one side of the window frame, and mounted on the shaft 70 of the gearJc is a crank wheel 70 having a crank or handle it. Mounted on the pulleys j and j at the opposite sides of the window are endless.

tube ortube members h and which are provided with stop devices m which operate to raise the drop gate, as hereinafter described, and mounted on the pulleys 7' is a cord, chain or similar device m The drop. gate 6 is provided centrally of the top thereof, and as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with a downwardly directed finger piece n which-is rigidly secured thereto, and which is provided at its lower end with an inwardly directed nose 7:? which is adapted to bear on the roller 9 in the lower end of the crank lever 9 when the parts of this apparatus are in their normal or operative position. 7

In Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawing, I have shown diagrammatically the electrical apparatus which I employ in connection with other operative parts of the apparatus and involving the shelf 6, the lever 03, the arm 6 of the shelf 6, the spring 6 at the inner end of the lever d, the contact devices f and f and the magnet g with its armature arm 9 and in said Fig. 5, I have also indicated at a an ordinary battery, but it will be understood that any suitable source of electrical supply may be employed, and connected with the battery a are circuit Wires 0 and p. The circuit wire'o is connected with the contact piece f, and connected with the contact piece f is another circuit wire 7- which is connected at r with a switch arm 1' at one side of which isa contact device 1' and on the other side of which is a contact device W. The wire p connects with the magnet g and another wire 8 is also connected with said magnet, and the contact device 1", while a supplemental wire 25 is connected with the wire 72 and with the contact device 1' and in which is placed or with which is connected a buzzer bell or other signal device a.

In the use of a display window provided with my improvement, the switch arm 1' is first moved into the off or open position, as indicated in Fig. 5, after which the articles to be displayed are placed on the shelf 6, or they may be placed in suitable trays which are placed on said shelf and as indicated in dotted lines at w in Fig. 2, and after these display articles have been placed on the shelf 6, the switch arm 1' is thrown over in contact with the contact device 1' as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, which is also designated by the word bell.

through the contact devices f and f and the adjusting means consisting of the screw and spring 6 are then manipulated by means of said screw and its nuts and e to operate the lever (Z to raise the outer edge of the shelf b and separate the contact devices f and f and the moment that the action of the hell or buzzer u ceases the correct adjustment is found after which theswitch arm 1*? is thrown into connection with the contact piece 1' as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5 and any'appreciable weight occasioned either by dropping an article of any kind on the shelf 6 or placing an article thereon, or touching said shelf or one of the trays, or one of the display articles thereon will depress said shelf so as to throw the contact devices .f and f into connection and this will complete the circuit through the magnet 57 and the armature arm 9 will be operated or drawn upwardly as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the finger piece g of said arm will be drawn out from between the; crank lever. g and the finger piece a of the drop gate 71, and the weight of said drop gate will force the crank lever 9 into the position shown in dotted lines in said figure, and said drop gate will fall into the closed position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in this operation the ears i of the drop gate 71 fall on the cushioned caps 71. of the springs h if nothing is inserted beneath said gate and the shock of the fall of said gate is broken and no injury is done to the apparatus. From the dotted line or closed position shown in Fig. 1, the gate is again raised and set for use by means of the crank wheel k on the gear wheel 70, and the cords or other flexible devices m and the stop pieces m connected therewith. It must be understood, however, that after the gate has been raised into the position shown in Fig. 6, the gear mechanism operated by the crank wheel lcmust be manipulated so as to reverse the movement of the cords m and bring the stop pieces m down into the dotted position shown in Fig. 6, after which the apparatus is operated as herein described.

The dro gate 71 may be made of any de-' sired weig t, and of any preferred vertical dimensions, and if when said gate is in the raised position shown in Fig. 6, a stone or other article be thrown through the window the broken glass and possibly the stone or other article will fall on the shelf 1) and the apparatus will be operated as herein shown and described to lower the gate z, or if a part of the window or window glass be cut out or removed and a hand be inserted for the purpose of-removing the articles displayed, the weight of the hand, or the touching of said articles by the hand will operate the apparatus and lower the gate 5.

It will be understood that theadjustment of the lever d by means of the parts 6 e,

e and e will depend entirely on the weight of the articles placed on the shelf 6, and my invention is not limited to the exact means .herein shown and described for adjusting said lever nor to other details of my improved apparatus as herein set out, and changes therein and modifications thereof may be made, within the scope of the apof the gate'z' may be accomplished from any point 'in the room or compartment back of the window independent of the shelf 6 and the lever 03 or other operative parts connected therewith, said means consisting of a push button 00, and wires'r and m one of which is connected with the wire 0 and the other with the wires, and with this construction pressure applied to the button at will close the circuit through the magnet g and operate the armature arm thereof and release the gate 2' as hereinbefore described.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my improved safety apparatus as applied to but one window, and it must be understood that any desired number of windows in the front of a store or place of business may be similarly provided, and where a main window is provided with supplemental side windows, said supplemental side windows may also be provided with guard devices attached to and operated by the guard device .or apparatus of the main window.

As hereinbefore stated the drop gate may be made of any weight and this weight may be sufiicient to prevent the raising of said gate by an operator outsideof the window, and any suitable means may be provided to automatically lock the gate in its bottom position, and. although I have shown and described my invention as particularly applicable to show or display windows, my invention is not limited to such use and changes in and modifications of the various details 0 the construction herein shown and described may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is: i

1. In a safety appliance for windows, a movable shelf placed within the window and having a depending member, a pivoted lever mounted beneath said shelf and one end of which serves to support said shelf by means of the depending member connectedtherewith, a vertically movable guard device mounted in connection with the window, means for raising said guard device, devices for holding said guard device in a raised position, and an open electrlc circuit in which said devices and said shelf are placed whereby pressure applied to said shelf will close the circuit and operate said devices to release said guard device. 1

2. In a safety device for display windows, a vertically movable shelf mounted within the window and having a depending memher, a lever pivoted beneath the window and one end of which serves tosupport said shelf by means of the depending member connect-- ed therewith, operative adjusting devices connected with the other end of said lever, a contact below said shelf, another contact connected'with said shelf, a vertically mov able guard device mounted in connection with the window, supporting devices for holding the guard device in a raised position, and an open electric circuit in which said contact devices and said supporting devices are placed whereby pressure applied to said shelf will close the circuit through said contact devices and operatevthe supporting devices to release said guard device.

3. In a safety apparatus for display .windows, a movable shelf mounted within the window and having a depending member, a lever pivotally mounted below the window and one end of which serves to support said shelf by means of the depending member connected therewith, co-acting electric contact devices supported .below the window and in connection with said shelf, a vertically movable guard device mounted in con nection with the window, a magnetmounted above the window and provided with a pivoted armature arm, electrically operated devices of which said armature arm forms a part for holding said guard device in a raised position, and an open electric circuit in which said contact devices and said last named devices are placed whereby pressure applied to said shelf will close the circuit through said contact devices and operate said last. named devices-to release the guard device.

1 4. In a safety appliance for display windows, a movable guard device mounted in the window, a lever pivotedbeneath the window, a movable shaft supported by one is provided with means for adjusting the positlon of said lever,'sa1d guard device belng normally held 1n an open position,

and means whereby pressure applied to said movable shelf Wlll release and close vthe guard devlce.

5; In a safety apparatus for articles placed on display, a guard device, a vertieally movable shelf on which said articles pressure applied to said shelf will close said circuit and operate said guard de'viceQ In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have signed my namein'presenceof the subscribing witnesses this 13th day of April, 1915.

- ROBERT R. COURTNEY,

witnesses: v j C. MULREANY,

, 'H; E. THOMPSON.

end of saidlever and the other end of which 

